Dragon Stryder
by anime-dark-fairy
Summary: Well, in truth this has nothing to do with Eragon, unless you count the fact that it had dragons, Dwarfs, Elves etc. Actual summary inside, please have a look and tell me what you think :
1. Prologue

**Welcome to the world of Phenox ( and no its not a spelling mistake :)) This story follows the adventures of Kira Stryder; a girl who wants adventure in her life, this however is not the normal behaviour for a girl. But soon she finds her self in the middle of a war, with no choice as to where her life goes.**

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><p><strong>Prologue<strong>

They called it the 'Mythics' era, it was during this time that the course of the world changed forever. The world of Phenox would never be the same; it would forever remember the _Dragon Stryder_, the one who ended the tyranny and brought peace to a world that had been at war for over 300 years.

The mystic races; The Elves with their beauty, grace, poise, power, wisdom, and immortality, who, with their blessed blades, created with the magic that runs deep within and blessed by the gods themselves, held the harmony between light and dark. The Dwarfs with their strength, speed, and capabilities for the creation or destruction of magnificent things were well known for their neutrality and good will they watched over the mountains since the dawn of time. Fairy's with their magical powers of both light and dark worked together protect the forests along with the Elves. The mighty Centaurs and Minotaurs watched over the Plains and deserts with a fierce resolve. And the Dragons, the rulers of the sky, that watched over all who dwell below and stood between any army and their goal with terrifying consequences. All of them disappeared at the start of the great war and for 300 years not one of the mystic races had been seen, they simply vanished.

This is the basis for this story, it had long been foretold that a warrior would unite the races once again and end the rein of darkness forever.

It was Allri -Month of the Light- on the 5 moon, when I first heard my child cry as I gave birth. It was a beautiful girl, and as I held her in my arms I felt as though the Gods had granted me an eternity of happiness. Nothing would ever tarnish this memory; the memory of my little baby.

"I Shall name you Kira... Kira Stryder." I cooed to the child, although she was too young she seemed to smile at the name as I held her close. "My sweet, beautiful child. May the Gods bless you as they have blessed me with your safe arrival." I preyed

I looked up as the door opened to see the tentative face of my husband. I smiled to him, knowing he had been every bit as excited as I.

"Its a baby girl dear, she is so beautiful. Oh come see." I said elated. William did not hesitate and was by my side in a flash smiling at the girl, now asleep, in my arms.

"We have been truly blessed my love. Very few are born during Allri, this is the Gods month, the month that combines all months... What have you named her?" He asked, speaking quietly so as not to disturb the angel in my arms.

"Kira, dear. She is Kira."

"Yes, and she will be the jewel in our life my love, she will be beautiful and loved by all. I shall go inform the town of this joyous occasion and have a feast prepared. Everyone will know of her birth."

I watched as William left, my heart felt enlarged by his reaction; I had known that he wanted a son, and had feared he would be less happy if it was a girl, but there have been very few times in which his eyes have shone so. I lay back with the child, exhausted but content and soon I let my eyes close and fell asleep with the feel of a small heart beat next to my own...

I was startled awake, it was dark now so it must be late night. I began searching for the reason of my awakening but found nothing save for shadows. I looked down at Kira still asleep in my arms, her face seemed to glow in the absence of light. I smiled to myself and again I wondered how I had been so blessed, and again I thanked the Gods. It was then that I was the shadow move, I turned towards it, bringing my knees up so they shielded Kira as much a possible. I watched as the shadow came closer and closer until it loomed over us. Now I could make out the shape, it looked to be human, probably female.

"Who-Who are you?" I stammered, not sounding as strong as I would have liked. I was answered by silence as the figure stood over us.

"Who are you?" I repeated, this time louder. I almost expected silence again, so I was surprised when I got an answer;

"A messenger." The voice was raspy, and a smell of decay wafted over to me. I tried to cover Kira more, as fears cold tendrils encased by heart.

"What do you want?" I whispered.

"Give me the child." I was more than shocked at the demand, and subconsciously shied away from the figure. But that demand also broke the paralyzing grip of fear and when I spoke my words were strong;

"No. You can not have her!" I yelled

"This family will die if the child remains. She is the key, and you can not prevent that." The smell of decay increased, and I was sure it was reaching out for Kira.

"No!" I screamed pulling back...

"_No!"_

The voice echoed through my dreams and I jerked awake, I sensed that something was not right as I leaped out of bed. I headed straight for my wives room.

"Emerald?" I yelled, and when I got no answer I began to panic. I shoved into her room, the first thing I saw was Emerald clutching our daughter to her chest, the next was the shadow that fell across her neck, a shadow that was connected to another shadow that leaned over her.

"Emerald!" I cried leaping at her attacker. I was partly surprised when I hit something solid with my fist. The shadow flew away, leaving Emerald gasping for breath.

"Leave here, and never return!" I shouted.

"You have been warned." I flinched as the voice sent a cold shiver down my spine, and I watched as it seemed to melt away. I quickly lit the torches and went to my wife; she was coughing and spluttering but she seemed OK.

"Emerald... What happened?" I said wrapping my arms around her shacking form. My mind kept replaying tho moment when I entered the room; how Emerald had been clutching Kira, even though it was obvious that she would have died if she didn't fight back.

"It-It t-tried to take my baby, it tried to take K-Kira!" She cried into my shoulder.

Cold fear ran through my veins at her words, no more that a few hours old and some one was trying to harm my child. It was inconceivable.

"Do not fear my love. No harm will befall our child, I will see to that." I cooed, trying to calm her. "No one will ever hurt her." I swore...

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><p><strong>Its short, I know but i hope you liked it :)<br>****Just a few notes; They do not have our months, instead they have;**

**- Imana, the Month of the Brave. **30 days  
><strong>- Simcon, the Month of the Curious. <strong>31 days  
><strong>- Kempti, the Month of the Heart. <strong>30 days  
><strong>- Mouso, the Month of the Soul. <strong>29 days  
><strong>- Fefive, the Month of the Warrior. <strong>30 days  
><strong>- Sesme, the Month of the Wise. <strong>30 days  
><strong>- Asrion, the Month of the Water. <strong>27 days  
><strong>- Jyron, the Month of the Sun. <strong>33 days  
><strong>- Deldarko, the Month of the Night. <strong>28 days  
><strong>- Bacto, the Month of the Strong. <strong>27 days  
><strong>- Celoin, the Month of the Mythics. <strong>20 days  
><strong>- Allri, the Month of the Light (a month that combines all 12) <strong>10 days

**I will keep Authors Notes to a minimum in the future but there will be things that need explaining.**

**Please review and tell me what you think :)**


	2. Chapter 1 The meeting

**Ok, so this is the actual start of the story. I hope you have a look at it and tell me what you think **

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><p><strong>Chapter 1<strong>

Nock. Draw. Shoot.

My arrow flew true to its mark; 600 meters away it hit the target I had drawn on the trunk for a large oak tree with a soft _thud._ I walked over and smiled to myself, happy with this batch of arrows and my own shooting. It may not have been world class, but with home-made bow and arrows it wasn't to bad. I pulled the arrow loose and placed it back into the worn, leather quiver I had brought about a year ago using my allowance that I had been saving. I looked up at the sky and realized that it was getting late, and that meant that Father would be expecting me home soon.

I quickly grabbed all my hunting gear and ran through the woods to an old hollowed-out oak tree; it was here that I stashed my bow and arrows and, on occasion, my sword. While Father grudgingly allowed me to learn the art of the sword, he was thoroughly against archery; _It is not a ladies place to be off in the woods shooting at animals, i__t is their place to be home attending the cooking and cleaning, and eventually; children. _He would always say. It would have been bad enough if Father had found out I was in the woods most days, but if he discovered I had been teaching myself archery, I would be in _big_ trouble.

After making sure my gear was out of sight and safe from the elements I headed back to the village, pausing at a small stream for a drink and to make sure I looked presentable so Father wouldn't know I had been out in the woods again. My raven black hair hung freely over my shoulders and, despite everything, looked as if I had done nothing more than taken a leisurely stroll. In fact I had been running, jumping and skulking around the woods for the best part of the day, once my face was clear of dirt and sweat I began the walk back to the village. As usual it was a calm lovely walk, and with the sun just lowering to the horizon, it colored the sky a beautiful shade of purple. The rest of my walk was uneventful -as was also normal- and soon I was entering the village, where the smell of smoke assailed my senses after spending the majority of the day in the fresh woodland air.

"Father, I am home!" I called as I came through the door. My Father poked his head around from the kitchen with a big happy smile adorning his aging face.

"Ah, Kira, just in time my dear. I have some wonderful news to share with you as soon as Elric gets home." My Father, William, replied in a sing song voice. It was not often that Father was so joyous and I wondered what news he had that would make him this exuberant; his warm brown eyes were sparkling with delight and he danced around, his salt and pepper hair flowing after him.

For a small moment I allowed myself to wonder if he was finally going to let me leave home, finally going to let me join the Phenox forces and train to be a soldier. I quickly dismissed the idea before I got my hopes up, as much as I may wish for an adventurous life, Father had always stood firmly against it.

So to busy myself I went and got changed out of my town ware -a flowing dress that Father insisted I ware- and into more comfortable clothing; black leggings and brown tunic with a white under-shirt. In reality I had been in the dress only for the time period it took to walk to the woods earlier that day and the walk home. And as usual when I walked out I got the usual _'Why do insist on wearing that?'_ look from Father. I shrugged and settled in to wait for Elric to arrive home.

As I waited I let my mind wander, wander to my days spent in the woods; there I would train in archery or practice my sword skills. I was adequate at both, but I always made a show of being bad when I doing sword training with the local swordsman, to make sure my Father didn't pull me out. Instead I would watch the other class, listening to how a technique was supposed to be done then practice alone. I loved spending my days in the woods, I loved the fresh air and the aromas that came with it. I loved hunting after small animals, honing my skills during the chase. I loved running as fast as I could in the sharp morning air and I loved the rare occasions in which I got to spend the night under the stars.

I was snapped out of my musings as the door opened and Elric stepped in. Elric was my younger brother -2 years younger, and he had just had his 14th birth-celebration- but he already worked long hours at the local saw mill. Unlike me, Elric would be better suited to a life as a house wife; he hated anything violent, and disliked the woods and surrounding country. He stood at nearly 6 foot and was well muscled already from the work in the mill. Like me he had blue eyes, although his were a few shades darker that my ice-blue ones. His dark brown hair was chin length and he often wore it in a small pony-tale at the nape of his neck.

"Finally Elric. Come, come, and take a seat. I have wonderful news." Father said ushering Elric inside. Elric raised an eyebrow at me and I just shrugged in response, conveying that I had no more of an idea about this _wonderful news_ than he did.

When Elric was seated next to me Father stood before us with that large smile on his face, at first he said nothing, he just stood there looking between the two of us before stopping his gaze on me. He took a deep breath before finally speaking;

"Well, as we know, Kira will be turning 16 in a weeks' time. Therefore she is soon to be a young woman." He started cheerfully. Elric and I exchanged a quick glance and I suddenly had a bad feeling in my stomach. "Now the Thorntree's from Irriwana village have been in contact with me recently and..." He let the sentence hang for a moment, and I suddenly knew what was coming. The Thorntree's were the chief family of Irriwana, just as we -the Stryder's- were the chief family of this town; Rowan Springs... I could feel the blood leaving my face before Father even spoke. "I have promised Kira's hand in marriage to young Master Brighton Thorntree." Father finished triumphantly.

My heart missed a beat and fear sank into my mind. _I am not ready to give up everything to get __married _I thought _I can't give up the forest and... And my whole way of life!_ I had always figured that my Father would never enforce the pre-arranged marriage thing, so I had thought I had about two more years left before a decision like this was to be made, one year at minimum.

I stood abruptly, cutting off whatever my Father was saying.

"What?" I demanded through clenched teeth, unable to remain silent any longer.

"Huh, oh I was just saying how the whole town-" He started before I cut him off.

"How could you!" I yelled. "Father, you know this is not what I want!"

At my words my Father's face grew dark with anger, but I did not regret my outburst, nor my harsh words.

"And what is it that you want?" He asked, keeping his voice steady. I had the feeling he had been expecting this, but I went on anyway.

"I want to join the army. I want to help protect our country from the tyrant who is already so close to defeating our forces!" I said. It was not the first time Father and I had argued on this subject and I knew that this time would prove to have the same outcome; me losing.

"And what can one person do?" Father thundered back "What can one _girl_ do? You cannot even swing a sword properly!" He continued layering emphasis on 'girl'.

"One person may be the entire difference in a war Father, and you know that!" I snapped back ignoring his dig at my sword skills.

"Well you can rest those fears because Elric will be leaving for the army soon after the wedding!" Father snapped back, it took a moment to realize what he had said, but as soon as he did my blood ran cold. I heard a gasp from Elric and turned to look at him, the pain was evident in his eyes; despite the fact he was trying to hide it. I turned back to Father with renewed anger; I may not want to spend my days as a house wife, but Elric was a mills man, a farmer at most. He was no soldier, he couldn't even kill a wounded animal, let alone a man.

"Are you insane?" I whispered angrily

"I beg your pardon young lady?" Father said surprised.

"Are you trying to tear this family apart? Is it your intention to make everyone miserable?" I was beyond angry, I could deal with Father trying to ruin my life, but not Elric's.

A new emotion played across Fathers face; pain, maybe regret. But it was fleeting and gone in a second. I vaguely wondered how my day had gone from great to awful in a matter of seconds.

"Now listen here Kira Stryder, you are to be married, as is custom. Elric must do his service time, as is also custom. There is no room for argument." Father said, working hard to keep his temper under control.

"Damn the customs then!" I spat. "Most would put the happiness of family over custom! Mother would have put our happiness first!"

Our Mother had died when I was 8 and we rarely spoke of Mother these days, but since her death, Father has been different. He was once kind, putting family above everything. Now he put his work as village chief above even his own children.

"Your Mother went through all these customs too! Do not tarnish her memory with prattle talk like that child!" Father spat, pure furry now on his face. While Elric and I had grown to accept Mothers death as well as any children could Father had not. We could never mention Mother with Father around without him becoming either very mad, or very sad. I regretted bringing her into this and I went to apologize to Father;

"Father, I'm sorry, but just listen to me-" I started before being interrupted.

"No!" Father thundered "If you continue to carry on like a child, I will take back my wife's ring!" He threatened holding out his hand.

I drew away, putting a few steps between us feeling a stab of intense pain in my heart at the threat. Mothers ring was always to be given to me after her passing, and for the last 8 years I have worn it around my neck with a sense of both pride and a great sadness. It was the one piece of jewelry that I had always loved on Mother, so she deemed for it to be given to me and me alone. For Father to threaten to take it away like that, it caused a pain like no other he could inflict.

As soon as he had said the words I could see regret on his face, this time it was not a fleeting thing, but a true sense of regret. I may have gone too far in mentioning Mother at all, but what he had just said was the equivalent of a sword being plunged through my heart. I knew my feelings were showing on my face -something that I often refrained from allowing- and he withdrew his hand, taking a step towards me.

"Kira, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean..." He started voice full of the regret I saw in his eyes.

"Leave. Me. Alone." I said not trusting my voice for more than those three short words. I then ran from the house, heading for the comforting woods that surrounded our town. I could hear Father and Elric yelling my name but I kept running, and running until I was deep within the woods. Until I was alone to let my emotions out, but still I kept running.

I realized vaguely that I was on the hill heading to Spineneck Ridge. Spineneck ridge was known for being impassible; no one could climb up or down due to the fact that the far side was very steep with many sharp rocks and lose ground. The side that I was running up was a gradual slop with good footing so it hardly passed as a threat, but with the growing darkness and my upset state I guess it was no surprise that I was at the top quicker than I would have thought possible.

I realized with a start that I was going to quickly to stop, so I done the only thing I could think of; I let my feet slide out from under me in the hopes of sliding to a stop before the edge. I felt a dull pain in my shoulder but ignored it as I slid closer to the edge. With heart thumping an d breathing hard I came to a stop with my feet over the ledge, I had barely slid three meters but it had felt like a much larger distance. Shakily I let out a breath of relief, and took in my surroundings with interest; I had never been this close to the edge and I had never run so far so fast. Pulling my feet in I stood slowly, my legs were shaky and felt quite numb, but that was to be expected with the dropping temperature and fading light.

"That. Was close…" I muttered to myself, looking at the landscape below me.

It was quite beautiful in the fading sun, the leaves shone a brilliant red-green and the trees themselves seemed to lean into the sun.

I stood there admiring the view and calming myself. Now that I was calm I berated myself for my brash behavior; it had almost ended in my own death. I also regretted my words to Father, but I could not regret being angry with him, and I knew that I still was. I looked at the scenery before me one more time before deciding to leave; it was already getting to dark to be outside while trekking through the woods. Turning to leave I heard a sickening crack and felt a lurch below me. I froze. The cracking continued, sounding like someone grinding wheat slowly, but I knew exactly was it was; the section of land I was on was breaking away, getting ready to fall over the edge of the ridge.

In the matter of seconds that it took to assess my situation, fear had shot through my entire body, and as the ground below me sunk even lower with a quick lurch, I small scream escaped my throat.

"No!"

I was never sure if I had heard the voice calling out _no_ but I never really cared either. The rock broke free and for what felt like forever I was caught in a sickening slide; racing through the darkness like a streak of lighting. The rock I was sliding on must have hit another because I was not thrown from it, i didn't feel the pain of landing but I knew I would later.

Somehow as I rolled and bounced down the ridge I escaped serious injury, and when I finally came to a stop I simply lay there, too afraid to move.

I had landed on my stomach, feeling battered and bruised, but alive. I thought briefly about trying to get up and at very least get a fire going, but soon dismissed the idea as the first wave of pain registered.

_This is going to be a _long _night _I thought, before I closed my eyed and darkness over took me.

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><p>"No!" I cried, watching as she screamed and the rock began to fall in earnest.<p>

I had often seen the girl around the woods doing a range of things, although archery and swordsman ship seemed to be the most usual. Although I had never spoken to her, nor made myself known i had always been impressed with her skill, speed and strength. When I had seen her running through the woods in obvious distress I had deemed to follow her at a discrete distance to be sure she would be ok while out this late.

I had arrived just as she skidded to a stop at the edge of the ridge and watched as she surveyed the Elven land below her –though she did not know it was Elven of course- with wonder while she collected herself. But then as she had turned the ground gave way causing her to freeze, and I watched in horror as she began to fall. Very few people have ever survived the treacherous fall to the bottom but I had to hope that she was one of the rare ones.

I took off running, heading for one of the few tracks that would take me safely to the bottom. Being a ranger definitely had its advantages; we knew tracks and pathways that no normal person would ever know, we were the guards and messengers for the mythical races –the elf race being my chief duty.

The closest track was about 200meters away, but I reached in quickly and began my decent. Usually I would have exercised caution while descending but that meant time, and I didn't have that time. So throwing caution to the winds I almost ran down.

As soon as my feet hit the solid land at the bottom I was off running once again; heading for the area she would have fallen to. As I was running I looked up at the hill and noticed with a shred of hope that she had gone down one of the more gradual slopes. _Maybe, just maybe… _I thought.

I slowed down when I got the area she was most likely in and began scanning the ground. Then I saw her, for a moment I feared she was dead because she was laying still on her stomach, but as I moved closer I saw the steady rise and fall of her chest and knew she was alive.

I crouched down beside her, fearing to move her incase her injuries were severe, I noticed a large gash on her arm but knew it was not fatal. She had numerous other cuts but none so bad as the first. Very carefully I rolled her over, supporting her head and began checking her over; like before she had numerous cuts and bruises; she also had a slightly deeper cut on her cheek.

I looked up at the ridge and knew that there was no way I could carry her back up to her village, and after a slight moment of indecision I made my mind up. After I placed a few quick bandages on her more severe wounds I picked her up, cradling her to make sure that no wounds were aggravated.

Then i began walking, heading towards the elven city of Arbor**(1)**, hoping that they would not refuse refuge to a wounded woman. Hoping.

An all my years living and working besides the elven people, I had learned one very important lesson; _Never_ bring a stranger into the elven cities without a very, very good reason. Right now though I thought this was among the best of reasons to break that rule.

I looked down at the girl again, she was sleeping peacefully, but I knew that peaceful expression would not last; she would be in a lot of pain for the days to come. _It is amazing that she even survived _I thought...

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><p><strong> Arbor is latin for tree :P<strong>

**please review**


	3. Chapter 2 Awakening

**OK, well I'm not really sure if anyone is reading this or not. But if you are I hope you enjoy and sorry for the long update :)**

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><p><strong>Chapter 2<strong>

Shadows. Faces. Pale faces with pointy ears; demons perhaps.

I was aware of so little around me, and for what felt like an eternity my world consisted of pain. Never ending pain. Maybe I was in hell, maybe I was dead?

When I truly woke up I just lay there with my eyes shut, my bed had never felt so soft. Fragments of a strange dream returned to me -a nightmare really-, of running through the trees then just falling and falling, and then pain.

I froze as that thought came to me. _Pain? There is no pain in dreams._

My eyes shot open and took in the room around me. Instead of seeing the familiar wooden roof and walls of my room, I found a strange room of stone. As I looked around more I noticed that the stone was intricately carved around the edges. A large opening in the far wall seemed to opened out onto a balcony, a large wooden door was situated on the wall to the right of me. I sat up in fear, -I had never seen this place before- but I instantly regretted it; pain shot through my body from stiff and bruised muscles causing me to gasp loudly and freeze in a vain attempt to lessen then pain.

Slowly I forced myself to relax a muscle at a time, and eventually I was able to sit back against the beds headboard without to much pain. I began looking around the room I was in, once again marveling at the intricate detail in which the room was decorated. I was quite sure that I had never seen anything so fine in my life.

I was startled when there was a slight knock on the door, and had to force myself to relax again.

"Um...Co-come in." I stammered.

I watched as the door slowly opened and a rather rugged looking man walked in. He had midnight hair that hung to his chin in soft waves, his eyes were so dark brown they would have been considered black from a distance. He had a thin layer of stubble around his mouth and chin, but otherwise he looked quite young.

"Good, your awake. You have had everyone quite distressed for a while." The man said, his voice deep but soft. I realized then that one could call him handsome. I also realized the he was waiting for me to say something...

"Oh um... Thank you." I said hoping that I wasn't making some kind of mistake. "But, ah, where am I?"

The man looked at me for a moment, studying me the way I had studied him. He seemed hesitant to talk; he opened his mouth as though he was going to answer then closed it again.

A small stab of fear ran through me; although my surroundings seemed open and friendly I wondered briefly if I was some kind of hostage. However the man's next response took away all such fears.

"I cannot tell you exactly where we are, but know you are in an Elven city called Arbor. The elves are very protective of their secrets, and this city is one of them." The man finally responded, deciding on both answering and not answering my question.

I nodded my understanding. Well, except for the elven part. After a moment's hesitation I decided to voice my disbelief;

"Um, Elves?" I said, hoping that he would get the message. Thankfully he did.

"Yes Elves. I understand that you would have been raised to believe that elves are nothing more than a myth." He stated, "But this is not so; they are very real, as are many other beings who wander this land. The Elves prefer to keep to their selves, with a few rare exceptions; you are one of them. When I found you at the bottom of Spineneck Ridge you were quite badly injured. There was no way I would have been able to get you back up the ridge, so I brought you here and asked the Elves to help you."

I was quite surprised at the turn of events; This man had been the one to save me, yet he spoke of it as though it was only a minor incident, not only that, but according to this man, Elves existed. I shook my head, absently trying to understand everything. In all my confusion though, one thing became apparent that I had to do.

"Thank you… Thank you for helping me." I said with a small smile, "My name is Kira, Kira Stryder."

The man seemed a little surprised at my offer of friendship, and I wondered how often he got gratitude for things he done.

"There is no need to thank me..." He said a little shyly, I found that I was quietly happy that I had taken off his guard, "My name is Garrett Stonearrow."

I smiled at him, but my smile faltered as I thought of a rather large issue.

"Um… How long have I been here?" I asked, now I was worried. _What will Father think? He must be worried sick!_ The man –or Garrett as I now knew him- noticed my distress and seemed to understand why.

"This is the second day since I found you." He answered concern in his voice. My mind spun _2 days_; Father most likely had the whole village out looking for me. With these worries my mind returned to the fight we had before I took refuge in the forest, Father probably thought I had run away to escape the marriage arrangement.

"I need to leave." I said my fears spreading into my voice. I attempted to get up but Garrett put a gentle but restraining hand on my shoulder.

"You are still too weak to make the journey up Spineneck Ridge. You need to rest; it would be no good returning if you nearly kill yourself in the process." He said gently.

I looked over at him; there was nothing but kindness and concern in his eyes. But still… I found my mind wandering to my Father again; i could almost see his distraught face. I could picture my brother Elric worried beyond belief.

I was about to argue that I would be fine, when there was another knock at the door. Garrett sat back, removing his hand from my shoulder and turned to face the new entrant; it was a lady dressed most elegantly in a flowing white dress that seemed to radiate its own light. Her long blond hair flowed down her back like satin, her piercing blue eyes showed a guarded but kind nature. As she walked in, her grace was profound and I wondered idly if she was floating instead of walking. But perhaps most striking was the pointed ears that showed through her hair. She was an elf; a real live elf.

"Ah, I am glad you have awoken child." She said, he voice like honey; sweet and soft. If any other person had called be child I would have most likely replied in a rather nasty way, but this lady –despite her beauty- carried herself in such a way that spoke of many long years, and everyone had heard of the myth that said Elves were immortal. And as such I found I was in awe of her.

"I-Uh, Thank you…" I mumbled, giving a slight bow of the head.

"There is no need to thank me child, we have not yet turned away someone in need, nor do we intent to start." She said with a soft smile.

I wasn't sure what to say in her presence; after all, I had spent my young years being told that Elves and the such did not exist. An awkward silence fell over everyone.

"My lady, when do you think she will be able to travel?" Garrett asked, finally breaking the silence.

"Hmmm, perhaps in a day or two I should think." She replied.

Alarm filled me at the thought of waiting a two whole days before leaving.

"Uh, excuse me…" I muttered shyly, "but is it possible for me to depart any sooner?"

She turned her eyes on me now, despite feeling awed once again I met her gaze with a confidence I did not know I had.

"We will see. You are strong willed so that should speed the healing process." She said thoughtfully, "But you need rest now. Need not worry, for the future will come in due time child."

I nodded and turned away. I was still rather confused but I felt better now that i knew there was a possibility that I could leave sooner. I watched as the Elf turned to leave, and decided that I had to thank her one more time.

"Wait!" I said to stop her she turned and looked at me curiously, "Thank you, for everything…" I had to let the sentence die because I realized that I did not know her name. Seeming to pick up on that fact she spoke again.

"Ardwin. My name is Ardwin child."

With that she left, and I found myself alone with Garrett once again. I looked over at him but he seemed to be deep in thought so I didn't say anything, instead I gingerly eased back down to lay flat on the bed. As my head hit the soft, down-filled pillow I realized just how tired I was and let my eye lids close with one final thought.

_Father, I'm sorry…_

I watched her as she fell asleep and had to wonder where she had gotten the strength to even sit up from, she was not only beautiful but strong too. I shook my head in admiration before quietly getting up and leaving the room.

Outside the door I found Lady Ardwin waiting for me. I walked up to her and together we proceeded down the hall way.

"What do you think?" I asked breaking the silence.

"She heals quickly; even an elf would be in pain from a fall like that." She stated simply.

"I was surprised that she even survived. There may be more to her than meets the eye."

"Yes. I saw her aura as I walked in the room; it shone a brilliant violet colour, the colour of one pure of heart."

Lady Ardwin, like many Elves had acquired a few special talents throughout her long years walking this land. Her most pronounced was aura reading; the ability to see a person's true nature through the inner colours, or representations, of one's soul. It had taken quite some time to get used to this ability she possessed; she was often able to pick up on my moods before I could voice them. She claimed that it was because the aura changes slightly with the moods, but I was never sure that it wasn't just because of some mind reading trick.

I sighed. It seemed almost cruel to make Kira stay here when all she wanted was to leave and get back to her family.

"You're concerned." Ardwin's voice cut through my thoughts. What she said was no question.

"Well… Yes." I said, knowing full well that I couldn't sidestep the statement.

"She will be fine. As I said, she is strong… However… I doubt we will be able to keep her here longer than a day." I looked at Lady Ardwin in surprise; she had a slight crease on her brow, indicating deep thought. It was very rare for her to be wrong about something; she had told Kira it would be maybe two days, but here she was saying one. It was strange.

"What makes you say that?" I asked, letting my confusion be clearly shown.

"She has excellent senses for a human, the feeling she has is more than just the need to return home. She senses something, but she had no clue what it is she is sensing. That felling drives her to return with haste." She said. My only guess to what she meant, would have been some kind of foresight or instincts regarding the future. And as for something that would drive a person to return so quickly as weak as she is… Well that only accounted for one thing in my mind;

"Do you mean there is danger coming?" I asked, understanding that much in her veiled words.

"You have grown observant Garrett." She stated quietly, "But yes; there is… Unbalance once again... I believe the prophecy will soon come to fruition, but there is also someone who would not let this come to pass easily, and that someone is blocking me from further details."

_Blocking her? _It was a crazy notion, because that meant that someone more powerful than ever her was at work in the world. She, like many of her elven brethren, is very attuned to the flow of forces within the world. She had once told me that the thoughts and feelings of the beings _on_ the land, was often reflected _within_ the land.

"If there is someone powerful enough to block even you… Then the prophecy may not yet come to pass…" I said softly understanding dawning with a small spike of fear.

"Yes… It is a dangerous thought to be had." She mused.

"What about Kira?" I asked, "If she is sensing it, does that mean she may have a role to play?"

Ardwin turned a thoughtful eye on me, times like this I wondered just how much she knew about my mind and its thoughts.

"I am not sure, but it may be so. It would be wise to watch over her." Ardwin said.

"How would we do that?" I was slightly confused at the statement; did she mean for us to spy on her?

"Do not fret Garrett." She laughed, "I think it would be prosperous for you to make sure the young lady does not get herself in trouble."

I nodded slowly, still not understanding all of the conversation we had just had. Elven minds were too complex for humans to understand, so I often had to just settle for taking what I could from such conversations and attempt to build a small understanding from that.

But there was now something I could both understand and act upon; Protection…

* * *

><p><strong>I hope to keep up to date in this one from now on, but nearing end of year exams means I might be a bit slow :) So I hope no one minds.<strong>


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